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Meeting report of the 7th Heidelberg Myeloma Workshop: today and tomorrow

  • Original Article – Cancer Research
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose

The 7th Heidelberg Myeloma Workshop was held on April 5th and 6th, 2019 at the University Hospital Heidelberg.

Methods and results

Main topics of the meeting were (1) diagnostics and prognostic factors, (2) role of immunotherapy in multiple myeloma (MM), (3) current therapy of MM, (4) biology and genomics of MM as well as (5) novel treatment concepts. A debate on the status of minimal residual disease (MRD) driven therapy was held.

Conclusion

Diagnostics and treatment of newly diagnosed and relapsed MM are continuously evolving. While advances in the field of (single cell) genetic analysis now allow for characterization of the disease at an unprecedented resolution, immunotherapeutic approaches and MRD testing are at the forefront of the current clinical trial landscape.

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Acknowledgements

We thank all speakers and participants for their attendance and valuable input at the workshop. Moreover, we thank Annette Hluzek and Andrea Illgner for assistance with organization of the workshop and all sponsors and exhibitors for their support: Abbvie, Adaptive Biotechnologies, Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Chugai, Janssen-Cilag, Molecular Partners, Sanofi-Aventis, Sebia, Takeda and The Binding Site.

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Correspondence to M. A. Baertsch.

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Conflict of interest

MAB: Takeda: Consultancy; Novartis: Consultancy, Research Funding; Celgene, Amgen, Janssen: Travel grants. RL: Janssen: Travel grants. MSR: Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Amgen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding. NW: No conflict. HG: Amgen: Consultancy, Research Funding; Novartis: Honoraria, Research Funding; ArtTempi: Honoraria; Janssen: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Sanofi: Consultancy, Research Funding; Mundipharma: Research Funding; Takeda: Consultancy, Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Bristol Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Adaptive Biotechnology: Consultancy; Chugai: Honoraria, Research Funding.

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Baertsch, M.A., Lutz, R., Raab, M.S. et al. Meeting report of the 7th Heidelberg Myeloma Workshop: today and tomorrow. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol 145, 2445–2455 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00432-019-02998-w

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